Time OF The Elves
by Lady MoonHawk
Summary: When a young elf predicts a turning point in history for her race, that will bring new allies, enemies and customs. Can the elves prepare for this, or will they loose their prized culture in the mean time? Please RR!
1. The Prediction

Disclaimer: Elrond isn't mine only Kikyo. I hate disclaimers.  
  
A young elf sat in the window, her long, silver hair draped over her shoulders. Her purple-green eyes glistened in the light of the full moon that hung above the city of Rivendell. She might have been around the age of three if she were a human, making her only a couple hundred years old in human years. She sighed, her small shoulders drooping as she did so. Lord Elrond came and sat upon the cushioned bench beside her, yet she did not care. A distant look seemed to be spreading across her face. Her eyes drooped but did not close.  
  
"Kikyo?" asked Elrond, calling the girl's name. She didn't respond. "Kikyo?" He murmured again. He placed his hand underneath her chin and turned her head so that he could see her face. Her eyes were half closed; a sort of dullness had taken over them. Her mouth was parted slightly, as if its owner was enjoying a deep slumber. Elrond didn't move. He had seen that face before on many elves before this young girl. He slowly removed his hand from her chin, yet her head did not fall back against the window, it stayed where it was as if that was the only that Kikyo had control of upon her body. But slowly the mouth of the young elf began to move, and a little rasping sound escaped it. Then, very slowly, in monotone, Kikyo spoke.  
  
"Long have elves been respected upon Middle-Earth. But now it is time for that to change, yet not in the way you would expect. The Age Of The Elf is approaching. Elves will grow in abundance and be respected even more among the other races, as good as this seems, 'tis not entirely so. With the dawn of this new era, many things will change, and not always for the better. New allies, enemies and customs shall come your way. Not only that, but many other things. You may loose your current customs if you are not careful. You may even loose the elven language, if worse comes to worse. But it is all up to you. You are a noble and proud race, and if you intend on keeping it that way, be warned: things are not always as they seem. You shall know when the Time Of The Elves approaches, for a sparrow will defeat a dragon in battle."  
  
The little one's head bobbed forward and her body drooped; and after a moment soft snores were emitted from the small child. Elrond shook his head; fate was so cruel sometimes. Usually those who made such predictions played a great, and a lot of the time gruesome, role in its carrying out. Yet maybe fate would be kind to this child that one of Rivendell's finest families had adopted, and maybe she wouldn't have to do anything. But for now, it was late. Kikyo needed to get to bed. Scooping her small frame up into his arms, Elrond stood and headed off to the sleeping quarters of the Calderan family. 


	2. The Dragon and The Sparrow

Disclaimer: None of these characters except Kikyo and her family belong to me, no matter how much I wish Legolas were mine. ^^  
  
It had been thousands of years since that prediction was made by Kikyo Calderan, and the young elf had grown into a charming young woman. And despite her pleasing features, she held no social status. She was neither a social reject or a popularity queen, she just, simply, was. And on this particular day, we find her under her tree, tears spilling from her eyes.  
  
Kikyo's hands were upon her face, yet the tears spilled out between her fingers. Her breath came in sharp rasps, no matter how much she tried to settle it. Her black kimono hugged her body, and her silver hair looked almost white, pulled back into a low ponytail. Yet even in the ponytail, when standing her hair fell to her ankles. Her sword lay beside her on the grass, and her bow and quiver were on the other side of the tree. Kikyo slowly lifted her head from her hands and stood, though the tears still spilled out. Her mood had swiftly changed from a sad grievance to anger, and she was reaching for her sword. It gently slid out of its sheath and it rested idly in her fingers. Quickly she gripped it tightly and thrashed it through the air, a soft woosh emitted as it was flung through the air. It hit the soft ground of the courtyard, causing dirt and grass to fly everywhere. Unfortunate and unlucky and big clump of dirt hit Kikyo's open eye and she dropped her sword, a soft uh emitted from her parted lips.  
  
Soft laughter threw itself into the wind and met Kikyo's elven ears and her hands quickly went to rub the dirt and tears from her eyes. She turned her body toward the arched doorway of the courtyard and her eyes fell upon an elf of about her age, with long blonde hair and an amused smile on his face.  
"Aut miqula dae' Orqu," Kikyo murmured to him in the elfish tongue. First a look of surprise crossed the other elf's face, and then amusement returned to it.  
"You tell me to kiss an Orc? Why, m'lady, I was hoping it wouldn't come to that." He spoke, but as he did so the look on Kikyo's face grew even angrier.  
"Amin uum'n quen vell curque lambe," Kikyo spoke, her voice quivering, now she was truly angry. Her father had just died and this elf thought he could come in and make a fool of her. Yet shock crossed the other's face, for what she had said translated: I don't speak the common tongue. The other stepped closer and spoke.  
"Neh, amin naa lathynth, amin ilue toru lle?" This translated: Oh, I am sorry, I can teach you?  
"N'uma, amin aru aut," She said, or 'No, I must go." With that she bent down and picked up her sword and placed it in the sheath at her side, ran to get her quiver and bow, then ran out of the courtyard leaving the other a bit confused. Yet as she walked away from the courtyard, a small smile crossed her lips. Had her really believed that she couldn't speak common? She snorted, what a fool.  
  
She ran off toward the palace, but before she got very far she ran into a huge frame that stunk of human. Stepping backwards she let out a soft growl. In front of her was a huge, hairy, human with an axe in hand. He seemed to be in as bad of a mood as Kikyo, and he spoke in a rumbling voice, using poor elfish.  
  
"I Dragon, You Sparrow. Fight." With that he swung his huge axe at the confused Kikyo's head, and she ducked just in time. Yet the axe had scraped Kikyo's ear and it was bleeding down the side of her cheek. Angry with the stupid human that could be easily mistaken for a dumb Orc, she unsheathed her sword. Flying through the air it landed on the human's shoulder, but unfortunately he was wearing armor, and she had barely dinted it. The human swung the axe again, but she had managed to dodge with her elven feet and he missed poorly. She frantically searched for any weak spots, and he swung the axe again, this time he cut off a lock of her hair that had failed to dodge with its owner. Not the shoulder plates. They were good and hard. Not the legs. no. There! Under the breastplate, a little crack that her sword just might fit through. But if it didn't, her head would be the price. Swallowing, she lunged forward aiming her sword at that little sliver of hope. It hit something. Hard. Pushing forward with all of her might it pierced whatever it was that it hit, yet not without a sickening sound that reminded Kikyo of a human's 'glasses' (whatever they were for) being stepped on. The human's body fell limp in front of her, but not before its owner gave a few gasps. The crumbled mess lay on the floor, with Kikyo's sword sticking out of it. Pulling it out she realized it was drenched with mortal blood. Disgusting. She whipped it off on her mourning Kimono, and placed it in its sheath. A bit dazed by the suddenness of the battle, Kikyo continued on her way through the palace.  
  
A figure that had been watching them from one of the many doorways gave a sigh. Shaking his head he muttered, "And the Sparrow defeats the Dragon in battle." 


	3. Inside Emotions

Disclaimer: None of the characters are mine except Kikyo and her family.  
  
Crying in the darkness,  
  
Tears trace my cheeks.  
  
Show not the strong,  
  
Show not the weak,  
  
Inside Emotions,  
  
For me to hide,  
  
Within the depths of the soul,  
  
That's where they reside.  
  
Lady MoonHawk: Above is a little poem I wrote about Kikyo. Fits this chapter, doesn't it?  
  
A not so happy Lady MoonHawk: C'mon people, please review. Constructive criticism is appreciated. I have toiled over these pages and will continue toiling until I am satisfied with my work. Be warned.  
  
Someone's crying now. Someone's crying now. What was that voice? You did it. Now they cry. What did I do? Shame, Sparrow, shame. Shame? Because of what? Now they cry. What did I do? You killed Dragon. Now they grieve.  
  
Kikyo jolted awake, hot sweat running down the side of her face. No, that wasn't sweat; elves don't sweat. Kikyo gently touched the side of her cheek, a droplet of the moisture staying on her fingers. She opened her mouth and tasted the liquid. A sort of saltiness lingered in her mouth afterwards. Tears. She was crying? No, she had been though, while she was asleep. Crying for the second time that day, but why second? Yes, the first time she had been grieving for her father, but this? Suddenly she remembered her odd dream she had just had, where the voices had tugged on strings that held fragile emotions and sent them, shattered, across the floor of her soul. But who was this Dragon? Then she remembered what the human had called himself. Dragon. It had never occurred to her that someone might actually grieve for him. That he would have family. To her he was just another meaningless slob looking for a fight.  
  
She had never considered the moral effects that killing someone might have. Now guilt was overflowing. Someone else had just lost their father, because of her. She was so stupid! How could she have been so dumb as to fight back? .How.? Fresh tears spilled down her face because of the refueled grief and because she had taken a life of someone else's father. How could she get rid of the sin that blanketed her hands? How could she? She would never. The thought came so quickly, I've killed someone and I'll never be able to change that. His face will follow me everywhere, the knowledge that I've taken someone else's father will never cease to pain me. It'll always be there. What surprised even Kikyo, her tears were not refueled by this thought, but they stopped. Grim awareness set in. She would never escape the harsh truth of the murder she had committed, unless.  
  
Kikyo climbed out of bed, her moon-white sleeping gown glowing in the light of the full moon. It was almost like the time when - what she had just remembered seemed to have been forgotten almost instantly. This made her even more upset with herself, and even more forlorn. Walking towards the door of her room, she grabbed her ribbon from her dresser, and tied it around her hair. Opening the door, she stepped out into the dark hallway, lit only by the occasional burst of moonlight through a window. Shutting the door quietly behind her, Kikyo started down the hall. Everything around her seemed to be glaring at her with sinister eyes, taunting her, and once she even thought she heard a 'Look, it's the murderer!' from behind a window, but upon closer inspection found nothing that could have said such a thing.  
  
Finding her way out of the palace, she found it was very bright outside, at least for night. The grass felt warm under her feet, yet not even that improved her mood. She gave a soft sigh and picked up her feet to continue on. Weaving in and out of trees, she finally found her destination: The waterfall. Swallowing hard she fought down the tears that were threatening to show their selves. Walking along the river, she came to the edge of the cliff, which the waterfall poured itself over. So, her life would end the same way as her fathers, in the same place; suicide, by throwing herself over the falls. She stood and looked down at the beautiful sights below. If she wanted to die anywhere it was here. She took in a deep breath and closed her eyes, preparing herself for the unthinkable.  
  
"I wouldn't do it if I were you." Came a voice from somewhere behind her. Turning around, startled, she saw the same elf she had encountered earlier that day.  
  
"Just leave. me be!" She said, her voice cracking as the tears she had held back spilled out over her eyelashes. She covered her face with her hands, and let the tears spill into them. She convulsed with the weight of the world upon her shoulders, a weight she was not yet ready to bear. She gritted her teeth, closing her eyes hard. Then - she didn't care. She let her body go limp, and she started to fall to the ground, but she didn't. Warm arms encircled her, and she wept into them, until she was so tired from doing so that she fell asleep. 


End file.
